Questions tagged [translation]

Questions on specific points regarding translating Chinese. Do your own research first!

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How to translate 狂拽炫酷吊炸天 to English?

I know it's an internet slang and meme, the rough meaning is “particularly cool”, however, how to properly translate it with especially equal rhetorical level? Here's some context: ...
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0 answers
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Unknown reference in Taiwanese manhua “日和迷因”

In a manga, I have seen a note Apparently, somethings "comes from" something else - from 日和迷因。Is it a meme (迷因)?What kind of meme? Is it from something different? Probably a reference to ...
1 vote
1 answer
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除了你我谁都不相信 or 除了你我谁也不相信 which is correct 都 or 也?

I read that when we have two different meanings in a sentence with 除了we should use 都 and not 也(还)。 So from the two sentences above correct is like this 除了你我谁都不相信 means I believe only you 除了你我谁也(还)相信 ...
6 votes
5 answers
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Does 我在家说英语 mean "I speak english at home" or "I'm at home speaking english"?

我在家说英语 if this means "I speak english at home" then why doesn't this 他在那里说英语 mean "he speaks english over there" instead according to a translation I have, it means "he's over ...
0 votes
1 answer
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Decode Chinese Address

I'm trying to contact a person in China. He needs to pick his item from Customs, or it will be shipped back to me. I only have his address (he is not responding to my messages for some reason). Could ...
1 vote
1 answer
260 views

Can you please help to read this seal?

Can you please help to read this seal? I have already tried this: Installed 說文小篆字體 .ttf font from http://www.guoxuedashi.net/zidian/xz/swxz.ttf And searched http://www.guoxuedashi.net/zidian/xz/ ...
4 votes
1 answer
315 views

Can you read this, or at least help me identify the characters?

Can you help me read these, or help me identify the characters? They're written on the backing paper of a scroll painting, probably from my great grandmother from about 1925. I’ve tried two different ...
1 vote
1 answer
79 views

How to translate "白月光"(White Moonlight) into English?

Paraphrase(From Baidu Baike): "White Moonlight" usually refers to a person or thing that is elusive in the heart, has always been loved, but cannot be touched. Source(From Baidu Baike): ...
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1 answer
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Hi, could you please help me with the translation of these weapon parts?

Could you please check, if I have translated these sentences in a right way? Thanks a lot! :) 气体调节器 - gas adjuster 瞄准装置 - scope 复进簧 - return spring 活塞簧 - bolt spring 上护盖 - upper cover 活塞 - bolt 机头 - ...
1 vote
2 answers
100 views

Is this sentence correct? 我把梦想献给李白的诗

I know it's a very easy sentence, but I'm afraid it could sound strange to the natives. Could you confirm me that you would say "I dedicate my dreams to Li Bai's poem" in this way? ...
1 vote
1 answer
94 views

Name of painter from Chop/Seal (Characters identified: 曹維雲印)

I posted the other day but because it was my first time on the platform I didn't correctly upload the image. Here are the images and the question: Can you let me know the name of the painter from his ...
1 vote
1 answer
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外卖 - Does this read as ( Take Away ) in regards to a meal?

I am trying to find symbols for a restaurant that does Asian Takeaway food. I want to know if this is the correct way to write "TAKEAWAY"
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Archaic Seal Translation - can anyone help?

I posted images of a Han seal on here and one member asked that I post the seal print instead so here it is. I looked into purchasing Wenlin to help translate this but I'm not sure if it is the same ...
1 vote
3 answers
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Can somebody please help me to parse the phrase, '挑起满满的一担...'?

Google translates, '挑起满满的一担粮食' [tiǎoqǐ mǎnmǎn de yī dān liángshi] as, '...pick up a full load of...', but when I attempt to translate this phrase manually, using the pinyin given in the source ...
1 vote
1 answer
161 views

Seal script identification/translation

Please flag or comment if this type of request is not allowed — from searching on this SE community it seems like these types of questions are fairly common. I've tried some of the links in accepted ...
2 votes
1 answer
183 views

Can someone help me translating this?

This was photographed by a friend in Beijing. Cursive script is very hard, I can only recognize two characters (多 永). The character on the top is clearly traditional (i.e. not simplified), though the ...
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3 answers
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What is the difference between 把握and 掌握in Chinese

In college we were asked that questions and I couldn't get any answers till now
2 votes
1 answer
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Snuff Bottle Calligraphy

I recently inherited a modern snuff bottle collection that have what looks like old calligraphy on the back side. Can someone tell me what the calligraphy says, and maybe even the chop?
1 vote
8 answers
388 views

What does "绝地" mean?

I am reading a novel and I have encountered this word "绝地", I thought the author made a mistake at first and meant "觉得" but I have been seeing "绝地" pop up more and more ...
2 votes
2 answers
181 views

“The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”

This quote is imputed to John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946). How do I translate it to Chinese? My attempt with Google Translate: 股市保持非理性的時間, 要比保持破產的時間長。 Keynes was thus able to scrape together the ...
2 votes
1 answer
218 views

How to ask the other to speak shorter?

I talk with a voice assistant 小爱同学. When I ask it: 今天是几号? It answers: 今天是9月30号,周四,衣历辛丑年八月二十四。 It is difficult for me to understand this phrase. I want a shorter answer: 今天是9月30号 or 30号 or 三十. 小爱同学 is ...
4 votes
1 answer
274 views

Trying to translate signature and stamp for Chinese print (Characters identified: 戊午九月石年)

Trying to find the origin of this print and the translation of the signature and seal.
1 vote
2 answers
263 views

What does "抽象" in this sentence mean in English?

On Chinese social networks, "抽象" does not always mean "abstract" For example, "这个视频太抽象了" actually means this video is kinda funny instead of "This video is so ...
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1 answer
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Chinese possible symbol what is it (Character identified: 亥)

Any ideas that this symbol is?
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1 answer
131 views

Translate a signature and Seal on a painting (Characters identified: 甲子春畫 醇士)

Was given a gift by a friend who had these from an uncle who, it was believed visited China around 1960's. I have tried to translate the signature and seal using on line tools with little success. ...
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

What's on this pendant?

I've ordered this item on famous chinese marketplace and now wondering what it actually means :) seller describe these characters as a 'mantra'. Google Translate and Papago extracted characters in ...
1 vote
3 answers
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Can ''Algeria'' name in Chinese be changed?

I had this idea for a while in my mind. It is known that Algeria in Chinese language is 阿尔及利亚, which is a direct translation from it's English equivalent. In Arabic, Algeria is called الجزائر (Al-Jaza'...
2 votes
2 answers
113 views

How would you say "I eat rice in china" vs "I'm in china and eat rice" in mandarin?

how would you say in mandarin I eat rice in china vs I'm in china and eat rice they have slightly different meanings
2 votes
4 answers
4k views

the meaning of "grass dogs (dogs of grass)"

天地不仁,以萬物為芻狗 that's Dao De Jing Chapter 5, I give a try: heaven and earth are not benevolent (I understand) 萬物 all the creatures 為 act 芻狗 grass dogs? dogs playing on grass? dogs made of grass? What ...
1 vote
1 answer
148 views

Who is this artist?

Any help will be appreciated, am lost
1 vote
1 answer
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Please Help Translate Seal Script on Old stone carving , Thank you

Hello, Any help to translate would be appreciated , I have a very old stone carving and I think it relates to maybe a marraige . But I would love to know the words , Thanks ahead for any help.
1 vote
0 answers
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Help with reading an Inkstone seal (Characters identified: 傳心基命)

I recently acquired a new large inkstone, weighing about 4 pounds and with a fine example of dragon carving. I had to lightly sand off the wax layer on the grind surface, so I know it is a newer ...
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3 answers
182 views

Placement of characters in a simple question

I am really struggling with knowing where to place words in a sentence. In particular, I was trying to formulate some sentences using 什么 and the sentence 'What do you want to eat for lunch?' popped ...
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1 answer
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Keeping up with the Joneses

What is the best Chinese proverb or translation that would best capture the meaning of the English idiom "Keeping up with the Joneses"?
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4 answers
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How to say: Things are not as simple as they seem

I want to translate a sentence: Things are not as simple as they seem. I have two sentences and I don't know which one is right: 事情往往没有看上去那么简单。 事情往往不像看起来那么简单 I'm asking because I don't understand the ...
1 vote
1 answer
303 views

What's the term for bank microdeposit, small test deposits that one bank sends to another to verify the second account's information and ownership?

"micro + deposit" can be literally translated as 小額 + 存款, but this doesn't capture the meanings below. How do I verify my bank with Microdeposits? – Wealthsimple help center How do I ...
6 votes
2 answers
373 views

Has there ever been an English translation of 《輶軒》"Fangyan"?

《輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言》has a couple of different names including《方言》and《揚子方言》. In English it mostly just gets called Fangyan. The entire Chinese text has been put up on ctext. As the first Chinese dictionary ...
1 vote
1 answer
61 views

How to literally translate this 就是一进街口靠墙的一个小棚子?

记得小时候,我家附近就有个小人书摊,就是一进街口靠墙的一个小棚子,里面用几块砖头支着粗糙的木头板子供人们坐着看书。 This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 20. About the literal translation of this 就是一进街口靠墙的一个小棚子: 就是(was)一(a)进(classifier)街口(...
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1 answer
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感同身受 English equivalent

As the question says, Im wondering if this 成語 has an English version. The best I could come up with is "I feel you" in English, but I feel the Chinese version has a deeper meaning. Any ...
1 vote
1 answer
149 views

(NSFW) Making a vulgar joke sound natural in Mandarin (Warning: contains offensive language)

My friend and I were jokingly conversing (read: google translating) in Mandarin Chinese and I spent 20 minutes on Wiktionary trying to translate offensive language: into Mandarin. I ended up with &...
1 vote
1 answer
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Can some one identify the writing a n artist seal in these photos? (Characters identified: 雪居)

I have a scroll that was presented to Braidwood nuclear station in 1985 by Li Peng. Any information is greatly appreciated.
4 votes
9 answers
1k views

Why is 7元/并 written instead of 7元/瓶?

A photo from the campus shop: (large image) I transcribe and translate this to: 纯享促销 7元/并 Purejoy promotion: 7 yuan/bottle (Here, Purejoy (纯享 chúnxiǎng) is a brand of yogurt.) I'm ...
0 votes
3 answers
115 views

Need help deciphering calligraphy on T-shirt (Characters identified: 龍鳳呈祥)

I'm trying to decipher the calligraphy on this t-shirt. I've tried drawing the characters into Pleco but I can't really tell stroke from embellishment. I'd be grateful if someone could show me the ...
1 vote
1 answer
163 views

please help translate the signature! (Characters identified: 大明永樂年施)

This is the signature on the pair sculptures. I translated only one word (the right one) - 大 "big", but other I can't recognize. Please, help
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1 answer
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Help with translating calligraphy on painting

I own this painting with extensive Chinese calligraphy. Very grateful for help with a translation, as well as the name of/identification of the artist. Thanks in advance, Leikanger
1 vote
3 answers
82 views

Counterfactual conditional sentences

I'm trying to find a reliable pattern for counterfactual conditional sentences like 'if X had (not) done sth, then Y would (not) have done sth. else'. In English and other European languages, ...
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0 answers
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Can someone translate what's on the pendant? (Characters identified: 招財進寶) [duplicate]

This is a pendant i got years ago, i really wonder the meaning.
2 votes
4 answers
118 views

Is "他要在家“ a grammatically correct way to say "He wants to be at home"?

I know it's probably not the best way to say it. Perhaps something more elaborate like "他想要在家里“ would sound better. But is the barebones version 他要在家 incorrect? To be clear, I mean this as a ...
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1 answer
113 views

What is the meaning of 人们不是常说吗?

如今,美食家们对吃提出了更高的要求。他们不仅要观色、闻香、尝味、赏形,而且还要求食物具有养生方面的特色。我想,家乡的萝卜饼完全具备这几个方面的条件,人们不是常说吗——“鱼生火,肉生痰,青菜萝卜保平安”,养生的功能,让我更加喜爱它了。 This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, section 19. What is the meaning of ...
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How to literally translate this: 随着小人书的流行,出现了从事租书业务的小人书摊?

随着小人书的流行,出现了从事租书业务的小人书摊,这对于那些想看又买不起书的人来说,只用很少的钱就能看一本,毫无疑问是件大好事。 This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, section 20. I need your help in the literal translation of this: 随着小人书的流行,出现了从事租书业务的小人书摊 ...

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